Wealth Alliance Sells 127 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Wealth Alliance trimmed its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,881 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in 3M were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in 3M by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $144.87 on Friday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $140.62 and a 200 day moving average of $134.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.